Who We Are

Rev. Elizabeth Thurman, Vice President of Religious Partnerships

Rev. Thurman has 15 years experience as a chaplain with the Federal Bureau of Prisons . A native of Memphis, she serves as Associate Pastor of Faith African Methodist Episcopal Church. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Morris Brown College and a Masters of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mrs. Theorius Hickman, Vice President of Multi-Disciplinary Partnerships

Ms.Theorious M. Hickman is the current 2nd Vice President of NAFJ. She is the Immediate Past National President of NABCJ. A Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with 30 years of experience in criminal justice and organizational training, she currently focuses on Reentry issues and fostering the inclusion of the faith community in developing an agenda on crime and criminal justice.

Mrs. Frances Washington, Director of Communications

Mrs. Washington, a recent retiree from the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency of the District of Columbia, has over 31 years of experience in counseling juvenile and adult offenders. She currently serves as President of the DC Chapter of the NABCJ and is an officer of Las Amigas, Inc. Ms. Washington earned her Bachelors of Arts Degree from Howard University, and a Masters in Mental Health Counseling from the University of the District of Columbia.

Contact E-mail: Communications@nafj.org

Ms. JoHaan Cotton Wilson, Co-Director (Memorial Memberships)

JoHaan Cotton-Wilson is a talented, young, positive professional and recent newlywed who migrated to the Lake County Community in 1990 from Houston, Texas. She is a proud native of Little Rock, Arkansas, and has been employed by the College of Lake County’s Lakeshore Campus in downtown Waukegan for the past 16 years as the Coordinator of Special Projects & Outreach. She holds a bachelor’s of arts degree from Northeastern Illinois University, and is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in public administration. She is Co-Owner of Wilson & Wilson General Contractors, Inc., and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Mr. Warren Cuffee, Treasurer

Mr. Warren Noyce Cuffee, a native New Yorker, graduated from high school in Norfolk, Virginia. He attended Norfolk State and George Washington Universities. His Federal service begin in 1960, ending in 1995 as a Equal Employment Manager, Center For Disease Control. He became a member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ). A Life Member of the NABCJ and a member of the Board of Directors, he is currently the National Treasurer. In addition to NABCJ, he is a active member of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Washington, D. C.; Blacks In Government; the American Legion, and Norfolk State University Alumni Association.

Mrs. Mary Louise Cuffee, Director of Membership Development

Mary Louise is the 19th child born to the late Reverend Edgar and Lucy Sanders, in Clayton, North Carolina. She attended the D.C. Public School System and OIC Training Academy. A member of Mt. Sinai Baptist Chuch. She was a Seamstress/Tailor for 16 years before her present job as a Management/Program Assistant with Internal Revenue Service (IRS). She is a Life member of Blacks In Government (BIG); a Life member and Historian for the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ); Director, Housing and Registration for National Religious Affairs Association (NRAA). She is married to Warren N. Cuffee, Jr., has one son, Richard and one grand daughter, Rickia.

Contact E-mail: Membership@nafj.org

Rev. Roosevelt Ewell, Parliamentarian/National Volunteer Coodinator

Rev. Roosevelt Ewell is a native of North Carolina and resident of Danbury, Connecticut. He is among the founding members of the National Religious Affairs Association, and serves as the Senior Pastor of the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church of Norwalk, Connecticut. Rev. Ewell has an extensive background in prison ministry and has served for over 25 years as a volunteer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. He serves as a principle liaison for the Connecticut Black Church Taskforce Initiative on Crime and Criminal Justice.

Dr. Juanita L. Jartu Jolly, Vice President of External Affairs

Pastor Juanita Jartu Jolly was born in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest of three daughters to the late Daniel Jolly and Alice Parker Jolly Boyce. She resides in South Jersey and is the mother of 5 precious children and one granddaughter. A published author, Pastor Jartu Jolly has written a series of Faith Chats: “What Are You Wearing? Are You Properly Dressed?,” “Unity – A Greater Anointing” and a thesis on ex-offender reentry. In October, 2001, Pastor Jartu Jolly was appointed by Bishop Leonard C. Goins, Pastor of Chestnut Hill Church in Germantown, as the International Supervisor of Women of Lion of Judah Pentecostal Churches International. She serves as pastor of Agape Christian Tabernacle Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.